LGHL PSN Round 1 Western Conference Preview Feat. NickyP and Silky: Colorado vs Edmonton

MASSIVE DISCLAIMER, we've broken up the league into conferences, and decided to break up the posts into 1 per series. These are written as full articles, so there will be 8 articles for round 1. The west should be completed today, the East will be completed tomorrow.

Well, round 1 of the playoffs is less than a few days away. As the 8 playoff teams in the Western Conference get set to do battle; @nickyP1999, @SilKyy_96 and myself got together and discussed the keys to each series and what we're looking forward to seeing. Down below we have the reigning Stanley Cup champions the Colorado Avalanche, against the top heavy Edmonton Oilers.

Colorado Avalanche vs Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers Roster

Theos - Akon - Shawn
JayDee - JaySnipes - Stamkos
Pfarcyde - Melt - TakeNotes

Stammer - Rsall
Pitcher - Giant
Bauer - Mick

J_Carlos
Westsidehockey

Colorado Avalanche Roster
JayFelic - Hyper - Tmills
Eastons - Nav - Vish
Nyi - Sudzy - Gonzo


Kipper - JNasty
Chelios - JLAden
JGiroux - IceAJ

Recki
Kucheran

Offense

We begin with the offenses going to battle in this series, and the top talent will clearly be on display. The top line on Edmonton was one of the most consistent lines throughout S9, and will be a handful for Colorado throughout the series. HOWEVER, the bottom 2 lines Colorado will throw out are miles better than what Edmonton can counter with, and should be a headache for Stamkos.

Eastons, Nav, Sudzy are all quality top 6 forwards, and Toxic (Nyi) and Vish are excellent 3rd line players at worst. Gonzo can hang even if he isn't anything more than an average 3rd line forward, but he should be able to avoid being a liability. Edmonton does have Stamkos on the 2nd line, but Jay has not been himself this year, and Jaydee hasn't found the S7 form which saw him put up more than 80 points while playing with Reap. The 3rd forward line on Edmonton will struggle to win a game in this series, so the top line of Edmonton will need to win 3, and the 2nd line will have to find a way to win one game if the Oilers want to have any hope of knocking off the reigning Stanley Cup Champs.

Defense

Defensively, the top 4 defense corps of both these teams are solid. While Rsall is a better D man than Kipper, Danny is a god damn beauty and has proven himself to be a top pair guy for the past 3 seasons. JNasty, Chelios, and JLAden don't quite match up with Stammer, Switcher, and Giant but it's not a huge discrepancy.

While the Avalanche 3rd pair isn't anything to write home about, the 3rd pair on Edmonton is patch work, and won't win a game in this series unless their goaltender steals them a game. Colorado has the edge defensively because their 3rd pair isn't a liability, and can stop the Edmonton 3rd line. I can't say the same about the Oilers 3rd pair against Colorado.

Goaltending

Colorado has a massive edge in net. Recki is a star goaltender and can steal any game in this series on a whim. Kucheran is also a quality net minder who is west, so expect him to play well with the Nav line, or against the Edmonton 3rd. While J_Carlos has had a solid season for the Oilers, he's not on the level Recki is. Westsidehockey is a backup G, and while he's an NHL backup, the Oilers can't expect him to steal a game.

Keys To The Series

Colorado Avalanche:

- Nav's management experience: Love him or hate him, he's been able to use the pieces at his disposal (great ones at that) for the past 2 years to net Colorado 2 straight rings. I fully expect Nav's management experience to play a factor in Colorado gaining the match-ups they want with home ice.

- Win the games they're supposed to: Pretty simple, while completely shutting down the Oilers top line might be too much to handle, their depth shouldn't have a problem beating Edmonton's. Colorado just has to win the games they're supposed to and we'll see them in round 2.

- Recki: Clear cut, if Recki steals a game against the Edmonton top line at any point, this series has the chance to be done fairly quickly.

Edmonton Oilers

- Top line has to produce: The only way the Oilers have a chance in this series is with the Akon led forward line winning 2 games before game 7, and then finding a way to win game 7. When you put 10.25M in a top line winger to play with one of the better centers in the game, you need production out of them, as the 3rd line on Edmonton is sketchy.

- Move Rsall off the top line: More so a hot take, and we'll see whether this tactic is used by Stamkos and Akon. The strength of the Edmonton top forward line is already there, and Stammerchel has developed into a great D man in his own right. Moving Giant to play with Stammer, and Rsall down to the 2nd unit to help Stamkos could give them enough of a punch to win one game. If the Edmonton line wins 3, then one win from their bottom 2 lines is all they'll need to punch their ticket.

- Stamkos Management Experience: Stamkos' former owner is on the 3rd Colorado line, but Gonzo has been quiet all year. We'll see what Stamkos was able to pick up, as he's up against it against Colorado. He'll need to find a way to get production out of his bottom 6, whether that's a favourable matchup, or getting 2 wins early to ease the pressure off his team. Either way, Stamkos will need to pull some magic out of his hat.

Predictions

Silky's Pick: Colorado in 5, Colorado will beat the Edmonton top line once, and wins the games they're supposed to against the depth of Edmonton.

Nicky’s pick: Oilers in 7, The top line will win 3 games, and Rsall moving off the top line and produces 1 win with Stamkos. Edmonton shocks the reigning cup champs.

Mamm's pick: Colorado in 6, Edmonton 1st does what they’re paid to do (20.5M 1st line with Rsall included), but Colorado wins all 4 games against the Edmonton bottom 2 units.

Thanks so much for the first read. While most of the other Western Conference preview articles will be written fairly soon, all feedback is welcome for the Eastern Conference preview's which will come over the weekend.

 

This is great. Really looking forward to these.

 

It’s nyl not nyi lol

 

You know what, I'm allowed a fuck up. WHOOOOOPS

 

Yo what’s a switcher

 

Jesus christ, that's an edit

 

Great write up doe